Preparations in full swing for Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai

Preparations for Ganesh Chaturthi festival are in full swing here, with sculptures witnessing the busiest time of the year to meet an enormous demand for Lord Ganesha idols for the annual festival, which is just a month away.

By Sushil Pareek

Mumbai, Aug.19 : Preparations for Ganesh Chaturthi festival are in full swing here, with sculptures witnessing the busiest time of the year to meet an enormous demand for Lord Ganesha idols for the annual festival, which is just a month away.

Every year, there is a huge demand for Lord Ganesha idols during "Ganesh Chaturthi". And, the sculptures along with their families can be found working day-night at times to complete orders for idols to be made in various colours, sizes, and designs.

The countdown to the 10-day festivities of Ganesha Chaturthi began on Friday in Mumbai and other places of the State.

Many artists commence their work as early as mid-June, and the schedule turns hectic by the latter part of August. The orders for Ganapati idols may range anywhere from one to 22 feet in height.

Ratan Lal, an idol-maker, said: "We start making the Ganesha idols from May and June as the customers orders their idols in advance. Sketches of the idols are drawn and customers' consent is taken before starting working upon it."

Mainly mud and plaster of Paris are used to make these idols everywhere. At some places, wood and fiber is also used.

"They wooden idols are worshipped, but not immersed into the sea or river on Ganesha Chaturthi festival's last day. Only the idols made of plaster of Paris are immersed into the water," Lal added.

Idols have become costly from this year. A five feet high Ganapati idol, which used to come for just rupees 1,000 last year, will cost rupees 1,500 this year. Artisans say that Ganesha idols measuring 15 to 20-feet in height that could earlier be bought around rupees 20,000 to 30,000, would cost around rupees 25,000 to 40,000.

Vijay Khatu, owner of a Ganesh idol-making unit, said: "We have finished almost 70 per cent of the work and I think in another 10-15 days our work will be complete. We prepare idols up to 22 feet and this year we have received 14 orders for that and we have received about 325 orders for idols measuring eight to twelve feet in size."

Khatu added: "A good quality idol may cost around rupees 5,000 to 55,000. The orders are placed from all over state, including Mumbai, Pune, Nasik and other places."

An idol is given basic shape with clay. Then the plaster of Paris dye is made, which is the most difficult part of the whole process. Coconut oil and a few other materials are used to prepare this dye.

It may take a day to prepare a five-feet Ganesha idol and over ten days for a 15-feet high idol. The craftsmen work not on just one statue till it is finished.

Over a period of two months, hundreds of idols are made in batches. Once the statues acquire a proper shape, a whitewash coat is rendered. The statue is left for drying till the second or third week of August. This is when the actual painting of the statues begins.

It is only a few days before the festival that a majority of the statues are fully painted and given the final touch.

The most absorbing or skilful area of work for artisans is in the synchronised painting of the eyes and adding a touch of divine expression to the overall face of the Ganapati.

The idol-making industry is basically unorganised and, thus, makes it difficult to estimate the total number of idols made each year. It exists more like a cottage industry.

Ganesha Chaturthi is an occasion or a day when Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees

Also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi in Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu languages, it is the birthday of Lord Ganesha.

It is celebrated during Bhadrapada month, starting from the Shukla Chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period) as per Hindu almanac. It is usually some time between August 20th to September 15 and the festival concludes on "Ananta Chaturdashi".

Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is widely worshipped as the supreme god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune.

While Ganesha Chaturthi is held all over India, it is celebrated in a big way in the States of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and other areas which were former States of the Maratha Empire.

ANI